pecan pie

Sure, I’ve picked up a frozen pie from the grocery store and heated it up in the oven… but I’ve never actually baked one from scratch.

So this Thanksgiving, I wanted to challenge myself. I baked a pie, but not just any pie. I baked what is probably the sugariest pie in the world: Pecan Pie (and I made my own crust!).

For the pie and the crust, I followed recipes from The Pioneer Woman (I love her!)

Pie Crust

What you need:

1-1/2 cup Crisco (vegetable shortening)

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 whole egg

5 tablespoons cold water

1 tablespoon white vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

How to make it:

In a large bowl, with a pastry cutter, gradually work the Crisco into the flour for about 3 or 4 minutes until it resembles a coarse meal. In a small bowl, beat an egg with a fork and then pour it into the flour/shortening mixture. Add 5 tablespoons of cold water, 1 tablespoon of white vinegar and 1 teaspoon of salt. Stir together gently until all of the ingredients are incorporated.

Separate the dough in half. Form 2 evenly sized balls of dough and place each dough into a large Ziploc bag. Using a rolling pin, slightly flatten each ball of dough (about ½ inch thick) to make rolling easier later. Seal the bags and place them in the freezer until you need them. (If you will be using it immediately it’s still a good idea to put in the freezer for about 15 to 20 minutes to chill.)

When you are ready to use the dough to make a crust, remove from the freezer and allow to thaw for 15 minutes. On a floured surface roll the dough, starting at the center and working your way out. (Sprinkle some flour over top of the dough if it’s a bit too moist.) If the dough is sticking to the countertop use a metal spatula and carefully scrape it up and flip it over and continue rolling until it’s about ½ inch larger in diameter than your pie pan.

With a spatula, lift the dough carefully from the surface of the counter into the pie pan. Gently press the dough against the corner of the pan. Go around the pie pan pinching and tucking the dough to make a clean edge.

How to make it:

Pour syrup mixture over the top. Cover top and crust lightly/gently with foil. Bake pie at 350º for 30 minutes. Remove foil, then continue baking for 20 minutes, being careful not to burn the crust or pecans.

If it shakes a lot, cover with foil and bake for an additional 20 minute or until set. I made this mistake and took my pie out while it was too jiggly and my pie turned out very liquidy!

Allow to cool for several hours. Serve in thin slivers (because it’s super sweet, although I had a huge piece because it’s so good!)

The last two Thanksgivings have been very different. Last year, I didn’t celebrate Thanksgiving because I was in Canada (so I celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving in October). The year before that, I was living on my own in DC, and I spent Thanksgiving by myself.

So this year when I was able to celebrate Thanksgiving at home with my family, I was over the moon.

We spent the day baking and cooking, watching the parade, playing board games, and of course… napping. It was perfect. Here are some photos from that day!

Spending the holidays with my family will always be my favorite thing to do. Did you celebrate Thanksgiving with your family? How did you spend the day? 💛